Spring Broken
by Fillionfan400
Summary: When Ryan's Niece, Ava, visits her uncle over Spring Break, things take a terrifying turn!
1. Chapter 1

[Type text]

_**In this story, we meet Detective Ryan's eldest niece Ava Ryan. Ava is visiting the precinct over Spring Break when a case breaks involving Ava's best friend. This episode would be about midway through season 5, and would be a two-part episode.**_

(Ryan answers his ringing phone) "Hello? Mhmmm… okay, send em' up. Thanks, bye." "Who was that?" Beckett asked a suspicious look on her face. Or was it something else? She looked almost excited, like she knew something he didn't. "What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Oh no, did you invite Jenny over for coffee again? Because you know she doesn't do well with caffeine, and-"

"Ryan! Calm down! I didn't invite Jenny over." Suddenly, Ava stalked quietly behind Ryan, signaling Beckett to not say anything.

(Covering Ryan's eyes) "Guess who?" Ava said in her best impression of Jenny's voice.

"Is it my beautiful wife Jenny?"

"Nope!"

"Oh, thank God!" Ryan said, relieved.

"Excuse me!?"

Frantic, Ryan begins to turn around. "Uh- I mean, uh- Ava!"

"Well duh!" Ava embraces Ryan, almost as if he was her best friend whom she hadn't seen in years. And really, that was exactly what it was. "Oh my God, how long has it been? Two, three years?" Ryan asked, both surprised and overwhelmed to be in his niece's arms yet again.

"Who cares!? All that matters is that I'm here now. So shut up and hug me!" Ava said grinning.

The truth is, Ava hadn't seen Ryan since she was fifteen. She had moved to north Queens when she was in high school, and there had been too much going on the weekend of Ryan's wedding. It had also been a few years since she'd been to the precinct to visit. Yet somehow, she knew where everything was in the gigantic building, with its coffee scented air, and its hustle and bustle of detectives and officers moving in and out of their offices.

"Good to see you Ava!" Kate said, a look of amusement spreading across her face.

"Good to see you too!" Ava said, rushing over and hugging Kate. "Especially after your accident. How have you been doing?

"A lot better, thanks." That was just like Ava, always concerned for other people, just like her uncle. It had always been like that, but even more so after the accident. "Oh, by the way, I brought you guys something." Ava turned and reached down into her backpack, and pulled out two small boxes wrapped in silver wrapping paper.

"For Kate, and for Ryan." Even though Ryan was Ava's uncle, she had been heard him called Ryan so many times, that she was used to calling him that. Suddenly, Esposito walked out of office, seeming a bit more tired than usual. Then again, it was fairly early in the morning. "Hey guys anything new happen yet?"

"You mean, other than the fact that I'm here?" Ava asked, peeking out from behind Ryan.

"Ava! No way! Mi poco amigo!" _*For those who don't speak Spanish, that means 'my little friend'* _Ava ran to him, and hugged him tightly. Esposito, being Ryan's best friend, had met Ava a handful of times. To her, he was just like another uncle.

"Hola Esposito! Como estas?" _*How are you.* _

"Not bad chica, how 'bout you?" Esposito said, looking down at Ava with a mixture of surprise and glee on his face. "Not bad, how 'bout you, mi gran amigo?" *My big friend*

"I'm doing' pretty good too." He replied, finally breaking their Spanish-speaking chain. "Oh, by the way, I have a present for you!" Ava said, pulling a third neatly wrapped box from her coat pocket. "Alright, on three you can all open your presents." Ava said, her eyes practically lighting up with happiness. "Okay, one, two, three!" Almost in unison, the three detectives pulled the tops off their gift boxes and dug through what seemed like mountains of wrapping paper. Kate was the first to pull out her present. It was a small silver ring with the word 'bravery' scripted on it in beautiful lettering. "Ava, this is so beautiful!" Kate said, a wide toothy grin working its way across her face. Esposito was next to dig his present out. He pulled out a dog-tag necklace with the word 'soldier' printed on it in large lettering. "Wow! This is so cool! Gracias chica!" Esposito said, giving Ava another small hug.

Finally, Ryan sat staring at his gift, a small gold ring with the word 'honor' scrawled across it in a rolling text. "Ava, this is- it's- perfect!" Ryan said, getting up and enthralling his niece in a warm embrace. "I was hoping you'd like it." Ava said, nestling herself against her uncle's body. There was something about the way he hugged her that made her feel so safe, like nothing could touch her. It was the same sense of security she had felt when he had embraced her so many other times when she had awoken from nightmares, or had been frightened by the haunting memories of her near death experience. But once he let go of her, she lost that sense of security. He held her shoulders and stared into her deep blue eyes, eyes that had seen so much pain and suffering, had been blinded by terror, and had been stained with her tears. They stayed that way for a moment, just staring at each other, grinning ear to ear. "So," Ava said, breaking the silence, "got any new cases in?" She asked almost brightly. "Well, surprisingly, not much has been going on lately. Crime rates have gone down a little this spring, which is a good thing for us." Kate said, stretching her feet up on her desk, when her office phone suddenly rang. "Then again…" She sighed, running into her office and picking up on the third ring. Her door shut a few moments later. Suddenly, the elevator rang, and Rick Castle stepped out of it, carting a small case of coffees. "Hey, sorry I'm late. I wanted to try getting coffee from somewhere else today, so my route was a little different." When he looked up, Castle saw a young girl about Alexis's age sitting at his desk. "Um, who is this?" Castle said, motioning his head towards Ava. "Oh, of course!" Ryan said, getting up from his chair. "Castle, this is my oldest niece Ava Marie. And Ava, this is-"Ava cut him off. "Richard Castle, I know." Ava stretched out a small, gloved hand to him. He shook it firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Castle. I'm quite a fan of your novels. A Skull at Spring Time is my most read book." Ava said, almost giddily. "Well thank you." Castle replied in a calm voice. "Oh, and you can call me Ava. Marie is my middle name." Ava added quickly, looking over at her uncle. "Well, Ava, it's nice to meet you." Suddenly, Kate burst through her office door. "We've got a fresh one, 1198 Clear Lake. Girl by the name of Charolette Wood." When Kate said this, Ava's head shot up. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and her face grew three shades paler. "D-did you say Charolette Wood? " She said in a stutter. "Um yeah, why?" Kate said, looking confused. "Because, Charolette's my best friend!" Ava said, tears welling in her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Ava stared wide eyed at all the other detectives, and Ryan moved in and hugged her. But she was too distraught to notice. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Everyone gathered around her in a group hug, even Castle. Finally able to speak, Ava asked "C-can I go with you t-to the house?" She said in a soft voice that was almost inaudible. Ryan looked at Beckett silently, asking her permission. "Of course." Beckett said, nodding once at Ryan. Ava, still in a fog, slipped her jacket and backpack back on. They all raced out the elevators, Ryan hanging back with Ava to comfort her.

When the team and Ava entered the house, Beckett saw Lanie in the main room, hunched over the body. She walked over to her, and the rest of the team followed close behind. She waited patiently for Ava to catch up to her so they could both talk to Lanie. Once Ava caught up, she and Kate walked over to Lanie. "Hey Ava! Haven't seen you in a while! What brings you here?" Lanie said in a cheery voice. But when she saw the look on Ava's face, she knew something was wrong. "You knew her, didn't you?" She said her voice slow and clear. Ava looked at her feet and nodded. "Oh honey," Lanie said moving in to hug her. "I'm so sorry!" She said, giving her a quick squeeze. When Lanie pulled away, Ava croaked out the words no one wanted to hear. "H-how did s-she d-die?" She said, her eyes filling with tears again. Lanie looked half stunned at the other detectives, and then hesitantly led Ava to where the body lay cold and lifeless. "At first, I wasn't really able to find anything," Lanie said, switching back to ME mode. "But upon closer examination, I saw a stab wound near the base of the skull. Whoever killed her made it so that spinal fluid would leak into her brain while she was paralyzed. She was dead from lack of oxygen to the brain." Lanie was about to press on, but then looked up again and saw that Ava had backed in to the other room and was being cradled in Ryan's arms, sobbing hard. Lanie looked to Kate, who shot her an it's-okay-it's-not-your-fault look. Lanie continued talking with Kate, while Ava sat down on the steps with Ryan. Suddenly, Ava looked up from her weeping, tilting her head up towards the top of the steps. "Do you hear something?" She said to Ryan, and he gave her a strange look. "There's noise coming from Charolette's room. We should go check it out." Ava said, leading the other detectives to where she had heard the noises. Ryan handed her a pair of gloves, and she opened the door leading to Charolette's room. Over in the right corner of the room, a laptop was playing a song at full blast. Ava recognized the piece right away to be Eminem's Love the Way you Lie. Upon closer examination, the detectives saw that the song was put on a loop.

"Why would this one song be playing on loop?" Castle asked, speaking for the first time since they had left the precinct. "I think I know." Ava said, finally seeming to regain some of her consciousness. "You see, Eminem wrote the song about an abusive relationship he had been in." Everyone looked at her confused, but then Kate figured it out. "So you're saying our killer may have been an abusive boyfriend?" "Exactly! Charolette just broke up with her boyfriend because she found him with another girl. A few hours after the break-up, he had started sending her threatening phone calls. At first, she just ignored them. But when the messages got worse, she came to stay at my house for a few days." Kate looked at Ava, surprised at the amazing lead she had just given them. "Alright, what was this guy's name?" Kate said, pulling out her spiral notepad. "His name is Trent Michaels. Age fifteen, goes to North Prep high school off of thirty-first." Ava said, beating Kate to her following questions. "Thanks." Kate said, closing up her notebook. The team walked back downstairs, and Ava walked to the door. "Hey, I'm gonna head back to the hotel. See you guys later!" Ava said.

-3 hours later-

Ava sat on the balcony of her hotel room, playing her radio at almost full blast. She was listening to Ray LaMontagne's Let it Be Me. She chimed in around halfway through the first verse. Behind her, Ryan slowly and quietly walked through the door. As Ava started singing the refrain of the song, Ryan chimed in with her. "If it's a friend you need, let it be me, let it be me." They both sang in perfect harmony. Ava turned the volume down on the boom box. She looked to where her uncle sat on the edge of the chair and smiled. But Ryan could see that her eyes were red and swollen from crying. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." She said. "No problem. Hey, brought you something." Ryan said, grabbing a plastic bag off the patio table. He pulled out a tub of chocolate ice-cream, and a few DVDs. "I grabbed some chocolate ice-cream and a few movies. I thought they'd help get your mind off your friend." Ava gave him a half smile. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry. You know how when you're really upset, no amount of food can fill that empty hole in your stomach?" Ryan nodded. "We're all really sorry about what happened to your friend. Everyone got together and signed a card." He said, handing Ava a card. When she opened it up, she saw it was filled with signatures from everyone in the precinct. "Wow, this is so… sweet!" she said. "But I really don't deserve this." Ava said, licking her lips nervously, her eyes watering again. "Why not?" Ryan asked, puzzled. Ava broke down into tears again. "B-because I killed her!"


	3. Chapter 3

Ryan stared at this girl – no, this thing, that had once represented innocence. This thing that had witnessed so many tragedies, that he had once cared for. But now, now he only saw sorrow and fear, and murder. How could this sweet, innocent little girl he had grown to care for as his own, have committed such a horrible, heinous act? Ava, eyes flooded still with tears, stared at him, and saw the expression of shock and fear on his face. "Y-you? You murdered her?" Ryan finally croaked out. "No! No, not like that," Ava said, quickly correcting him. "At least, not directly." Ryan, now a look of relief and confusion, stared once again at Ava, this time recognizing that innocence once more. "I'm the reason she's dead. Because of me, she was killed. I'm the one that set her up with Trent in the first place. If I hadn't gone and made such a stupid mistake!" Ava stopped, not wanting to go any further. And really, there was no need to. She lowered her head down, clutching her hair. She had gone from sobbing to full on hysterics. Ryan quickly tried to help appease her somehow. "Ava, sweetie," He tried to say over her tears and screams. It wasn't going to work. Instead, he moved to hug her. He held her there, rubbing her back and trying to settle her. When she finally quieted her sobs enough, he spoke to her. "Sweetheart there's no way that you could have known this was going to happen. No one could've known." But this didn't seem to work, for Ava spoke out once again. "But I could've protected her! _**I **_could've tried to help her!" She said, half whispering, half screaming. "Ava," Ryan said, looking his niece in the eye. "Honey, there's no way you could've known this would happen. Besides, you did what you could." He said. "But I could've done more. Charolette and I made a pact that we'd always have each other's backs, but I didn't have hers the one time she truly needed it!" Ava said. Once again, Ryan tried to ease her pain. "Well, you did what you could. Look, I bet your friend is looking down on you right now, thanking you for all you did do." This seemed to bring some peace to Ava. They sat for a few moments more, his arms still wrapped around her in what seemed like an eternal embrace. Finally, Ava pulled away. And for the first time that day, Ryan saw something in Ava's eyes that he rarely ever saw there: a glimmer of hope. "Ava, you are one of the sweetest, kindest people I know. I just want you to remember that, okay?" Ryan said, a small tear streaking down his face as well. "Always." Ava replied, a small, nearly invisible smile crossing her face. The two of them stood up and gathered themselves. "You know, I think I'm starting to get my appetite back." Ava said. "Maybe we can crack open that ice-cream and watch a few of those movies?" "Of course." "And do you think you could spend the night too?" Ava said, looking at her uncle. "Sure."


	4. Chapter 4

Ryan and Beckett sat across from each other in their desks in the bullpen. They were discussing some things when Ava walked out of the elevator, carrying a small pastry box. "Morning guys!" She said, bright and cheery.

"Hey Aves!" Ryan said, smiling at her. He was happy to see that she wasn't as glum as she had been last night. Kate picked up on this too, giving Ava a half smile.

"I thought I'd pick up some donuts on my way in. For Kate, a bear claw." Ava said, pulling one of the sweets out of the box.

"Ava, I think you read my mind." Kate said, taking the donut and taking a big bite out of it.

"And for my favorite uncle, a glazed donut." Ava said, pulling a delicious looking donut out of the box. "Thanks honey!' Ryan said, giving Ava a quick kiss on the head. "No problem." Ava said. Suddenly, Esposito appeared behind Ava, reaching over her head, going in for a chocolate donut with sprinkles. "Hey Mr. Grabby Pants! Wait your turn!" Ava said, spinning around in time to see Espo stuff his face full of donut.

"Sorry." He said his mouth full. Ava giggled slightly. She pulled a small pastry out for herself, a small glazed donut with chocolate glaze. The elevator dinged again, Castle appearing inside. Again, he was carting a case of coffees. He seemed to be having trouble carrying everything, so Ava rushed across the room to help him.

"Oh, thank you Ava." He said with a kind smile on his face.

"No problem." Ava said, returning the smile. She grabbed a few notebooks he had been carrying and walked them over to his desk. When he finally caught up, she pulled a donut out of the box for him as well. "I hope you don't mind, but I got a glazed donut for you she said, handing it to him.

"No trouble here." He said, taking the donut. "And I hope you don't mind that I didn't get you anything to drink," he said. 'I didn't know what you wanted."

"Well, I guess I can forgive you." Ava said with a playful smile. "You're just lucky I don't drink coffee. Speaking of which, I think I'm going to go get some hot chocolate from the break room." She said, walking away.

"Oh Ava, CSU brought by some surveillance video from the Wood house. He had a few security cameras set up. Wanna look over the footage with me?" Ryan piped up.

"Yeah, sounds good. I'm just gonna get a drink first. Be back in a sec!"

"Hey Castle, wanna go talk to Mr. Wood with me?" Beckett said.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna let Espo help with this one Castle said, looking to Esposito.

"Uh, yeah, that's fine." He said, getting up and walking with Beckett to the conference room. Castle then turned and walked into the break room. There, he found Ava struggling to work the cappuccino machine. She suddenly pulled her hand away from the machine in pain, and Castle saw a burn mark on her thumb. "Shoot!" She cried. When she turned around, she saw Castle in the doorway. "Oh, hi." She said, looking at him with wide eyes. She turned back to what she was doing, and Castle entered the room.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions." He said.

"Well, if your first question is how to work this dang machine, I wouldn't be able to tell you.' She said a goofy smile on her face.

"Here, let me help you with that." He said, walking over to her. He pushed a few buttons on the machine, and it worked. "Thanks, you're a life saver!" She laughed. "And for that, I will answer any questions you have." The cappuccino machine let out a loud hiss that startled both Rick and Ava. She practically jumped into his arms, and he nearly jumped into hers. "Yikes! Either that means my hot cocoa is done, or that thing is possessed by a demon!" Ava said, eyes still bright from fright. They both cracked up laughing, and sat down at the table to talk. "So Mr. Castle, what can I do for you?" Ava said, easing herself into her seat.

"Well, you see, um, there's really no way to ask this easily, but… Okay. Yesterday, after you left, your uncle had been saying that this wasn't the first time this kind of thing has happened to you. So, I was wondering, what was the other thing that happened?" Ava, who had been sipping on her drink, suddenly began to choke. "Oh God, are you okay?" Castle said, getting up to help her. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said between coughs. Castle reluctantly took up his position again, half expecting Ava to yell at him and lecture him on not asking poignant questions about her personal life, but she didn't. Rather, she sighed heavily, and continued on.

"Well, I can't remember much, because I had blacked out for a while. But what I can remember was this: my dad, my mom, and I had been driving home from a Halloween party at my school. Apparently, there had been a police chase going on for a few hours, and we didn't get the warning not to leave until we got further word. I remember that we had gotten about a block from my house, and that's when it all went wrong. The guy the police had been chasing ended up rear ending us at about a hundred miles an hour. Since I was sitting in back, I felt most of the impact, and ended up getting knocked unconscious. "

"When I woke up again, I was in the hospital. All my relatives, including Ryan, were there, all dressed in black. I asked what had happened, and… And they told me my mom had been killed in the crash, and that my dad and I barely survived. Everyone there had just been at the wake. They were waiting until me and my dad were able to get out of the hospital to go to the funeral. Unfortunately, my dad had been knocked into a coma. He stayed that way for seven years. That's when Ryan volunteered to take care of me. All of my other relatives either had too much going on, or were out of state. Ryan was only twenty at the time, and decided it would be the best decision since he would be nearer to my father." Ava looked up, realizing that she had been in a trance like state, and was talking for what seemed like hours. "I-I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Castle said, realizing the scars he'd just opened had just bled out all they could. "It's okay." Ava said, a grim look now on her face.

"Just, one other question, I swear. Did they ever catch the guy?" Castle asked, his face becoming somber.

"Actually, no. The guy died on impact. And every day, I remember what that man took away from me, and I hope to God that no one else has to go through that kind of pain." Castle could now see the tears welled in Ava's eyes.

"Unfortunately, the hard truth is that this kind of thing happens every day." Ava said, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. "Mr. Castle, you know how people say you get one shot at life, so you should live it to the fullest? Well, I got two. The point is, if there's something you want to do in life, don't waste your time thinking about it. Act on it." Ava said, eyes locked on his face.

Suddenly, Ryan poked his head through the door to the break room. "Finished up Ava? Oh God, are you okay?" Ryan saw that Ava had been crying.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ava said, a truthful smile crossing her face. She stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Castle to ponder on their conversation.


	5. Chapter 5

"Mr. Wood, we're sorry about your daughter." The similar sorrow of the words danced liked flames across Kate's tongue. But hey, it was part of the job, having to tell people the same thing over and over, 'We're so sorry for your loss,' or 'we wish there's something we could have done.' Those same words that had echoed through her own ears years ago, the same ones that would change her life. Clyde Wood opened his mouth to speak, snapping Beckett back to reality. "I just can't believe my little girl is gone. I just can't…" He stopped there, tears forming small rivers down his face and puddling at his chin. "Maybe if I hadn't been out of town yesterday, maybe I could've protected her."

"Sir, if you had been there that night, you may have been killed too." Esposito said, knowing perfectly well that it was true. Indeed, Mr. Wood had been very lucky to have not been in his house that night.

"You're probably right." He sighed. "I just can't believe this! Five years ago, I lost my wife in a car accident, now I lose my daughter to a murderer."

"Mr. Wood, we understand that your daughter had recently had some issues with an ex-boyfriend. Threatening phone calls and e-mails, notes left on her locker. Did you know anything about this?"

"Of course I did! I intercepted one of the shit-bag's phone calls while Charolette was sleeping over at a friend's house. He started screaming that if Charolette ever spoke a word of what happened to anyone else, he would kill her!" This statement peaked Kate and Espo's curiosity.

"You don't think that little creep killed my daughter, do you?" As Clyde said this, he confirmed everybody's suspicion, that Trent Michaels had indeed murdered Charolette Wood.

"Well, that's what we're trying to figure out." Espo said in a reassuring tone. "Our department is doing all it can to find this guy as soon as possible."

"Thank you." Clyde said, seeming reassured. Him and the two detectives stood up and walked to the door. When they opened it, Ava and Ryan were waiting for them outside. Ava's eyes seemed to lighten when she saw Mr. Wood.

"Ava, good to see you!" Mr. Wood said, giving Ava a quick hug. "Listen, I can't thank you enough for helping my daughter stay safe. You don't know how much it means to me." He said, grinning ear-to-ear.

"No big. I'm just glad I could do something to help." Ava said. "I'm really sorry that I couldn't do anything more."

"Don't say that! You did all that you could to help my daughter, and I'm incredibly thankful for it. Detectives, thank you." Clyde turned to Beckett and Esposito, then gave a quick nod to Ryan and Ava, and left.

"Alright, what did you guys find out?" Beckett said, switching her attention to Ryan and Ava.

"Well, we got word on Trent Michaels. They're bringing him in right now for questioning. And here's his rap-sheet." Ryan said, handing Beckett the long list of crimes.

"Whoa, assault with a deadly weapon, assault of an officer, resisting arrest, that's quite the list for a 16 year old kid!"

"Actually, turns out Trent is a little older than we thought. He's really 19, a year older than me. He was held back for so long because of all the time he spent in Juvi. He hadn't been active in crime for a while, so his parole officer let him start going back to school." Ava said. It was freaky how similar she sounded to her uncle when she went into detective mode. Either she had been spending too much time around her uncle, or had been paying really good attention in criminology. Probably a little of both, Kate thought to herself.

"Where's Castle? If he's gonna help me on this interview he better hurry up." Beckett had been wondering where Castle had been the past fifteen minutes. Maybe he had-

"Hey, I'm here! Is that Michael's rap sheet?" Ah, good old Castle. Always popping up when and where you least expect him, like an out of control Jack-in-the-box. Or as Kate saw it, a jack-ass-in-the-box.

"Uh, yeah, he's in interrogation right now. Let's go." Beckett led Castle out of the room, and Espo, Ryan, and Ava sat down to look over security footage.

- Interrogation-

"Trent Michaels, age 19, and already committing some very adult crimes. And now murder." Kate slapped Trent's file down on the hard metal desk and leaned in closer to Trent so he could see the disgust in her large hazel eyes.

"I'm telling you now, I did not kill Charolette! We were over weeks ago, and I haven't even spoken to her!"

"Oh really?" Kate hit the small button on the recorder next to her. It started playing a recording of one of Trent's phone calls. 'Look you little bitch, if you ever mention any of what happened between us to any of your little friends, I swear I will personally kill you!'

"That doesn't sound like nothing to me." Castle said, following Kate's leaning forward motion.

"So, you might as well fess up now, make things a little easier on yourself." Kate stared straight into Trent's eyes. She could see the dark storm clouds of anger and bitter hatred in his dark blue eyes. It's as if they were screaming 'I'm guilty! Take me away! I did it!' But Beckett knew from experience to not always let that kind of thing fool you.

"I'm telling you, I didn't kill her!" Trent sighed. "Look, you have to understand me. Sure I was pissed with Charolette, but I would never do anything to hurt her. She was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Save it, we've heard it all before. And even if you didn't kill Charolette, you're still going to jail for making threatening phone calls. So, if you weren't at Charolette's house last night, where were you?"

"I was at the bowling alley on 45th. Ask my boss, he'll tell you."

"Trent's alibi checks out. He was at the bowling alley 9 to 10:30 last night. He's not our guy." Kate said, turning to the rest of the detectives that sat in the bullpen. Ava looked down at her shoes, angry and upset.

"Dammit!" She hissed, startling the detectives. This was completely unlike her.

"Ava, it's okay. You win some, you lose some, right?" Kate said, trying to calm her down. Ava turned to her, the look of frustration replaced with a look of anger.

"Yeah, well losing _this _one means losing an opportunity to catch the guy who killed my best friend!" She screamed. Then, as if just catching herself, Ava realized that she had just snapped in anger. "I-I'm sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to freak out like that."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. Look, I'm gonna get out of here for a while." She turned to her uncle. "I'm going down to the gym on 18th. Pick me up in about two hours please." She turned and walked to the elevators.

"Ava, wait!" Ryan called out, a tone of concern crossing his words. But Ava was long gone by now. So were Castle and Esposito. Ryan turned to Kate, clearly upset. She reached out to him.

"Ryan, it's okay."

"Kate, I'm really worried about her! Ava never acts put like that!" Ryan said.

"She just lost her best friend, Ryan! The girl's gonna be a little edgy! Don't take it personally." Kate said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Just, give her some time to cool off."

"You're right." Ryan said.

"Of course I am."


	6. Chapter 6

_Now I will tell you what I've done for you, fifty-thousand tears I've cried. Screaming, deceiving, and bleeding for you…_

Ava stared at the punching bag before her. The bag represented all of her stressors, all of her angers, all of her fears. Her music blared on the disc player behind her. She was listening to Going Under by Evanescence. It was one of her favorite songs to listen to when she needed to blow off steam. At last, Ava straightened up, and pulled her hand back, ready to punch the crap out of anything (or even anyone), that chose to get in her way. As the chorus of the song began, Ava's fist connected with the bag. She felt some of her rage drain from her body, and out through her hand. _Right upper cut. Left hook. Rabbit punch. _Her heart was pounding, but Ava had never felt better.

Ryan suddenly walked through the door, making Ava lose her focus. He gave her a small wave, and Ava grinned back. That smile, that beautiful smile, broke Ryan's heart into a million little pieces. He knew that that smile meant that she was finally feeling better, but that she still wasn't completely healed inside. It was more of an _I'm fine, but only for now _kind of smiles.

"Can you toss me my water?" She said, barely audible over Amy Lee's beautiful vocals. She reached behind her and hit the power button on the radio. Finally, quiet. Ryan tossed her water to her from across the room, and Ava caught it like it was a fly-ball. "Thanks."

Ava took a long, large gulp of her water. The cooling liquid fused with the hot tensions of anger and sadness that bit at her throat. She pulled away at last, barely able to take the feeling anymore. At last, Ryan spoke, releasing some of the tension.

"Man, like five different people were staring at me while I was coming down here." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Gee, maybe it's because you're in a sweater vest?" Ava quickly retorted. _That's good,_ Ryan thought, _poking fun at me is at least getting her mind off of things._

"Hey, for the record, this suit makes me look very good!" Ryan giggled.

"Sure it does. Come here, let me fix you."

"Oh come on, I look fine!"

"No, you look like you just came from an early morning tea-party! Just come here and let me fix you. Please?"

"Okay, fine." Ryan succumbed to his niece's demands with a giggle. His heart felt a little lighter knowing that at least she was having fun.

"Okay first, you need to ditch the shirt. Here," Ava ran over to her gym bag and pulled out a black t-shirt. "My lucky Ramones shirt. It should fit you okay."

Ryan remembered this shirt. He had gone to a Ramones concert once with his college friends and had picked up the t-shirt as a souvenir for Ava. Of course, they didn't make six-year-old sized t-shirts, so Ava used it as a blanket for most of her life. But now that she was older (and taller), she would just pin it up and wear it. It almost brought a tear to Ryan's eyes knowing his niece had kept the thing all these years.

"Well, put it on!" Ava's voice pulled Ryan back from the distant memory, and he did as she told him. Ryan ducked into the small locker-room behind him, and returned a few moments later wearing the shirt. Ava was right: the shirt fir him perfectly. When Ryan turned and looked at Ava again, he could see that she had begun tearing up.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just remembering the time you'd given that to me. The thing practically swallowed me, so I had to use it as a blanket." It amazed Ryan that this same thought had occurred to his niece. He moved across the room and enveloped Ava in a hug. In that moment, Ava could feel all the stress, all the anger and all the sadness drain from her completely. She was again greeted by the feeling of warmth and safety that came with each of those hugs. At last, she pulled away, and smiled. This smile was not a smile of sadness; this smile was genuine. It showed that she had truly felt happy.

"Look, I'm really sorry for how I acted back at the precinct. It was really wrong of me to snap like that."

"It's okay."

"No, it's really not. Being upset isn't an excuse for the way I've been acting. I'm really sorry." This time, it was Ryan's turn to tear up.

"Ava, it's okay. I know that you didn't mean to snap at Beckett like that. Losing someone can be really difficult on a person, and everyone reacts differently to it. All that matters is that we're going to get through this. In fact; how would you like to come to the wood's house with me and Espo tonight while we investigate?"

Ava seemed to be surprised at this, but immediately agreed.

"Sounds like a plan." The two of them packed up and headed out the door, both unaware of the terror that was soon to ensue.


	7. Chapter 7

It was fifteen minutes to midnight when Ava, Ryan, and Esposito pulled up to the Wood's house. The trio climbed out of the Crown Victoria and headed up the long staircase that led to the door. Once there, Ryan pulled the key that Mr. Wood had given to him to use out of his pocket. But when he tried to turn it in the lock, the door wouldn't budge.

"Crap, he must've given us the wrong key."

"Hang on a sec." Ava said, and she reached over the top of the door. She pulled down a small silver key. 'Charolette kept an extra key up here in case I needed to let myself in." This time, they key worked perfectly. They were in at last.

"Alright, I'm gonna check the kitchen." Ava said.

"Why, still hungry?" Espo giggled.

"No, I wanna see if there's any sign of activity. Maybe ripped cloth from where someone tried to get out through a window, foot prints, that kind of stuff."

"Good idea. Espo and I will stay out here and look."

Ava turned and walked into the kitchen. It was now ten minutes to midnight. Unannounced to the detectives, it was also ten minutes until all hell would break loose.

Ava began her sweep of the kitchen by looking through some of the drawers. _Maybe someone dropped something in here, _she thought. And indeed, someone had. The second drawer that Ava opened held what would later be discovered as the murder weapon. She pulled out a slender knife, covered in dried blood.

"Holy shit!" She whispered to herself. She slowly backed out into the living room area, where she found Espo and Ryan hunched over a piece of paper.

"Guy's check this out. Found it in one of the kitchen drawers." Ava handed the knife to her uncle. "Some of the blood looks recent, but some of the stuff closer to the handle looks like it could be a little older than a year."

"Nice work!"

"Thanks! What's that?" Ava said, pointing at the piece of paper. _11:57. _

"Can't tell. It's written in Chinese."

"I can probably translate. I took three years of Chinese in middle school, and I remember most of it." Ava said, taking the note. _11:59._

"It says, 'When the clock strikes twelve, prepare for Hell.'"

_12:00._ Suddenly, the large wooden grandfather behind them struck midnight. _Prepare for hell. _Without warning, a first gunshot was fired.

"Run!" Ava screamed, and the three detectives ran for the door. _Boom! _This time, the bullet struck a vase, and Ava stopped dead in her tracks.

"Ava, come on!"

Ava looked towards her uncle. Something on the wall behind him caught her eye. _The silhouette of the gunman! And his gun was pointed right at Ryan!_

"Nooooooo!" Ava cried running in front of her uncle. _Boom!_ Another shot was fired. Ryan and Esposito stared in horror as Ava crashed to the floor, and blood poured from her shoulder.

"Ava!" Ryan screamed in horror. This time, it was Espo who saw the shape of the shooter on the wall.

"Ryan, get down!" He said, and he tackled Ryan to the ground, just in time. _Boom! _ The fourth, and final, gunshot rang out. Ryan looked up, and saw Espo running outside to catch the shooter. He then weakly crawled over to where Ava's body lay on the ground, unmoving.

Ryan pulled Ava onto his knees, and cradled her there.

"Ava, can you hear me?" No response. "Ava, please!" The tears were coming now, harder and heavier than anything he had ever felt before. Outside, Espo was calling for an ambulance.

"Ava, it's gonna be okay." Ryan said, not so much to reassure his niece as to reassure himself. Finally, Ava closed her eyes. Ryan sat there, his niece dying in his arms, and sobbed.


	8. Chapter 8

Ryan and Esposito stood at the front desk of the hospital, waiting for the woman at the front desk to page Ava's doctor. It had been over a week since she had been brought into the hospital, and they were finally allowed to come and see her. Finally, her doctor radioed back, and the secretary led the boys down the hall. Ryan was becoming somewhat nervous: the surgeon who had helped put Ava's shoulder back together had called two nights ago and said that the surgery might not hold up. It had taken over eight hours to make the needed adjustments to help the bones heal properly, and the tendons also had quite a bit of damage done to them.

Finally, the secretary stopped in a large open room, some sort of waiting room, and Ryan saw Ava. She was sitting in a chair, reading to a small group of injured children. _Wow, even when she's in pain, she still finds time to help out, _Ryan thought. Ava had pulled out a copy of Stelleluna, one of her favorite books from growing up, and was reading it to the kids. When she looked up again, Ava saw Ryan and Esposito standing in the hallway, and headed towards them. One of the little girls from the group, who must have broken her wrist, judging by her cast, stopped Ava.

"Please come back Miss Ava!" Ava bent down to the girls eye-level and smiled.

"I promise I'll be back in a minute Katie." She said sweetly. She started walking over to her uncle again, a large smile on her face.

"Even when you're in pain, you still make sure no one else is, huh?" Ryan said, smiling back.

"That's what I do!" Ava said, hugging her uncle with her one free arm. "I missed you so much!" She said. Then, she turned to Espo and hugged him, saying something in Spanish that Ryan couldn't quite make out. When they pulled apart, Espo handed her a small bouquet of flowers. "How'd you know that Orchids were my favorite flower?"

"Your uncle picked 'em out."

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Guys! Whoever picked them out, they're really nice."

"So, how's the shoulder been holding up?" Ryan said, nodding towards Ava's shoulder. It was now wrapped in a purple cast and hung up in a sling.

"Well, the doc says that the operation went pretty smooth, and that my shoulder should be fine in about a month. They're actually letting me go back to my hotel in a few days. They were able to pull out the bullet just fine. It actually hadn't gone in too far, only about three inches. But other than that, it's just really sore."

"Well, that's good. I mean, the fact that it's healing properly and all."

"Yeah, I guess so! How are you guys doing? Neither of you got hurt, did you?"

"No, we're both good."

"Oh, thank God. I'd heard another shot go off while I was down, and I was really scared that one of you might've gotten hurt." Wow, even when Ava was the one with her shoulder broken into a million little pieces, she still checked to make sure everyone else was okay.

"Nope, Espo pulled me out of the way in time. Probably saved my life!"

"Hell yeah I saved your life! By the way, you still owe me for that."

"Hey, let's not forget who saved _both _your lives!" Oof, Ava had them there. Suddenly, the little girl from before, Katie, appeared behind Ava.

"Can you come read to us now, Miss Ava?" She said with pleading eyes. Ava turned to Ryan and Espo, and they gave her a nod.

"Alright, let's go!" Ava said, leading Katie back to the group, her flowers in hand. Ryan turned to Espo, and the two of them left the hospital.


	9. Chapter 9

"Good morning!"

Ava Marie Ryan opened her eyes that sunny Thursday morning, to find a small, stuffed bear sitting in her face. She giggled, and propped herself up on her good arm, and smiled at her uncle.

"Who's your little friend?"

"Jenny wanted me to give it to you."

"Aw, that's so sweet! I'll just have to put it with the other ones that I got."

Ryan sat and stared at his niece for a moment. He realized that she looked just like she did when she was little. She was absolutely beautiful, with short brown hair, blue-grey eyes, and freckled-face. Sitting there in that moment, Ryan realized that the sweet little five year old girl, whom he had cared for, had never really left; she had just gotten older.

"What are you staring at?" she said, bringing him back from his thoughts.

"I was just thinking; you look just like you did 13 years ago when you'd be asleep on my couch after a nightmare."

Ava smiled up at him, and then frowned.

"I still have those nightmares."

Ryan leaned in to Ava and stroked her face, the same way he would when she was little. The same way he would when she had those nightmares, the ones recalling that fatal car accident.

"Do you still wear your mom's locket?" He asked.

"Haven't ever taken it off. I just put new pictures in it last month." Ava opened the necklace, revealing two pictures: on the left, a picture of Ava and her mother at Easter time, wearing matching bunny ears. On the right, a picture of her and Ryan at her seventh birthday party. They were both dressed up as cops, all because Ava had wanted a cop-themed party. She had always seemed fascinated by the idea of being on the force, so she was more than thrilled when Ryan had volunteered to come to the party and talk to the kids.

Ryan smiled. He was in complete admiration of Ava. She had wanted to be a detective from a young age, and had strived to become one ever since. He had never seen anyone else (well, other than him, of course) try so hard to help people.

"Oh, I brought you some breakfast." Ryan said, reaching behind him. He pulled out a small brown bag, and handed it to Ava.

"Chocolate donut with sprinkles?"

"Shoosh yeah!"

Ava giggled. It was nice having her uncle around again. He was always trying to make her smile, to make her see the happiness in life.

Ryan stood, glancing at his watch.

"Shoot, I gotta go sweet-pea. I'll see you after work." Ryan said, leaning in and kissing Ava on the cheek.

"Don't hesitate to call if you need anything. And if you can't get through to me, you can call Beckett or Espo. Oh, and don't forget that Beckett's coming over to keep an eye on you tonight."

"You know I don't need a babysitter, right?" Ava said, shooting her uncle a somewhat annoyed glare.

"I know. But I just want to make sure you're safe. I wouldn't forgive myself if you got hurt again."

Ava wanted to retort, but she didn't when she saw the pain in Ryan's eyes. She knew he just wanted the best for her, and so she didn't argue.

_Later that night_

Ava sat reading her copy of Pet Sematary, waiting for Beckett to show up. Right when she got to one of the scariest parts of the book, she heard a knock at the door, and screamed slightly. Then, realizing it was probably Beckett, she answered it.

"Ava, are you oaky? I heard you scream." Beckett said, poking her head into the room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was reading my book and you scared me." Ava said, holding up her book as proof.

Beckett stepped into the hotel room. Ava took her coat and tossed it over the couch.

"Man, this room is huge!" Beckett said, glancing around at the hotel suite.

"Yeah, the manager upgraded me to a bigger suite because he thought I would have 'increased mobility.'"

"He does know it's just a broken collar-bone, right?"

"No, but I wasn't gonna argue!"

Beckett laughed. It was good to see Ava doing well, despite all that had recently happened to her.

"I brought a few movies so we'd have something to do." Kate said, holding up a plastic bag.

"Sounds good!' Ava said, leading her into the kitchen.

"Ms. Beckett, might I interest you in any hors d'oeuvres?" Ava said in a cheesy English accent.

"Why yes. I'll take a fresh garden salad with no dressing, and your finest glass of red wine." Beckett said, striking up the same silly tone.

Ava opened the fridge, and turned back to Beckett.

"How about leftover pizza and some grape soda?"

"Eh, it'll have to do." Beckett said, making them both giggle.

"I'll have it ready in a minute. You can go set up a movie if you want. What did you bring?"

"I've got Titanic, Lion King, or Independence Day." Beckett said, spreading out the DVD's on the table.

"Hmm, tough choice. How about all three?" Ava said, looking hopeful.

"Sounds good!" Beckett said, walking into the living room. She tried to start up the DVD player, but had some difficulties. Ava finished up in the kitchen, and carried the food out to the living room.

"Hey, can you give me a hand?"

"Uh, yeah. Just hit the red button on the remote."

When the TV finally turned on, it was on a channel that was playing the final moments of Jaws, when the shark blows up. Suddenly, the gunshot rang out on screen, and Ava froze.

She was back to that night at the Wood house, and the bullet was coming at her in slow motion. Her feet wouldn't move, and it was coming straight at her. _Oh God, help me!_ Ava thought, dropping the glass cup, shattering it, and cutting her leg. She began falling backwards, falling _unconscious, _when Beckett's voice snapped her back to reality.

"Ava!" She screamed, catching her off guard.

Ava looked up at her, stunned, and then began to cry. Kate rushed over to her, and wrapped her up in a tight hug. She was sobbing now; she was so scared.

"Kate, I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She said through the tears.

"Shhh, it's okay, Ava, it's okay." Kate said. She had gotten quite the scare as well, but wouldn't let Ava see it. She just sat there and cradled the frightened girl in her arms.


	10. Chapter 10

Ava sat in the coffee shop the next morning, tired as all hell. She hadn't slept the night before, because every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was that bullet coming straight at her. Kate had passed out on the couch after midnight, and Ava just stayed up most of the night watching TV. She finally dozed off around three in the morning, barely able to keep her eyes open. _Maybe a little caffeine will wake me up, _Ava thought. Even though she didn't drink coffee, Ava had stopped by the shop anyways, and finally settled on a green tea.

Now, she sat at an empty booth, just staring blankly at the table top. She felt tired, and a little sick. She took a sip of her tea, ignoring the fact that it was extremely hot. The burning sensation helped wake her up, and at this point, her head didn't even recognize pain. But it did recognize a familiar face walking into the coffee shop: Richard Castle. He stepped cheerily into the short line, not even seeming to notice that Ava was only a few feet away. Or, so she thought. A few minutes later, the tall, ruggedly handsome author was standing at her booth, holding a Styrofoam cup out to her.

"One hot-chocolate, with whipped cream and sprinkles." He said, his bright blue eyes seeming to twinkle. Ava looked at him, and smiled for the first time that day.

"Mr. Castle, I do believe you just read my mind." Ava said, taking a swig of the drink. The combination of chocolate and whipped cream instantly put her in a better mood. She motioned for Castle to sit across from her at the booth. He sat down almost hesitantly, Ava thought. He seemed troubled. But why?

"So, Mr. Castle, what can I do for you?" Ava said, trying to lighten the tension that had seemed to settle over them.

"Actually, I was hoping there was something I could do for you." He said, glancing guiltily at the floor, pausing while Ava took another sip of her drink. "Ava, Kate told me what happened last night."

At this, Ava choked a little on her drink. Castle stood up to help, but she motioned that she was okay.

"Damn, why is it that every time you talk to me, I end up choking on hot chocolate?" Ava giggled uncomfortably. Castle didn't laugh. He had a serious look set on his face.

"Ava, is there something that- that you might need to talk about?" He stuttered. Only then did Ava realize the gravity of the situation. Richard Castle wasn't here for small-talk: he had come here to help her. He knew she was in pain. No, not just in pain, more like agony, despair, desolation. She was hurting inside, and she was denying it. And that thought, that was the last straw. She finally broke down, tearing up a little.

"Look, I- I'd rather not talk about it here. Could we maybe go somewhere else?" Ava said, trying hard to hold back the tears.

"I'd be happy to."

Ten minutes later, Ava and Castle were seated in a park bench not far from the coffee shop. It was a sunny April morning, but no amount of vitamin-D was going to cheer Ava up. She had almost broken down on the way there. The only thing that had kept her going was the fact that Richard Castle had been holding her hand the whole way, as if to say _it's okay, I'm here. Everything's gonna be okay._ But in Ava's mind, nothing was going to be okay. She couldn't deny it now: she had PTSD. And she had it bad.

Ava sighed deeply, and then began talking.

"I guess it all started after the car accident. When I was in the hospital, I could rarely sleep. Every time I would close my eyes, I could literally feel the car summersaulting, I could hear the screeching metal. But worst of all, I could hear my mom screaming." Ava paused, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. She didn't bother wiping it away, knowing more were on their way.

"I guess I was too young then to know what PTSD was, so I just kind of brushed it off as nightmares. But it only got worse after that. Back when I was staying with Ryan, I used to wake up screaming in the middle of the night. I never really knew why, I just would. Ryan would say it was probably just bad dreams."

"When I was about thirteen, all those bad dreams and stuff started going away. I thought it was just because I was with my dad again. But then, last week, all this shit happened, and all of that stuff just started coming back." Ava was crying now, actually full on crying.

"A few nights ago, I had this really bad dream that we were back in the Wood house, and the bullet was aimed straight at my heart. Oh God, everything was so vivid, I actually felt like it was real. People say that you can't feel pain in a dream, but I swear I could feel the bullet going right through me. I finally woke up, and I was screaming and sobbing."

Ava sat back now, holding her head in her hands. Castle moved toward her, and she clung to him desperately. He didn't seem to mind. He held on to her for a few moments, cradling her, until she finally pulled away, sniffling.

"Ava, why didn't you tell anyone?" Castle said, and Ava could see that he had begun tearing up a little bit as well.

Ava sighed again. "Look, I know I haven't known you for a long time, but you have to understand. Growing up, I created this little tough-girl persona, I guess as a way to block out some of the pain. But if I were to lose that façade, people would just see me as weak. I couldn't let that happen."

Castle couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was as if a small bit of Kate had jumped into this girl.

"Ava, I may have only known you for a few weeks now, but I can tell you this: no one is going to think less of you because of this. Hell, look at Beckett! She gets up every day and faces off with this, and she does just fine. And if she can do this, so can you. Ava, you may think that you're not really tough, but trust me, from what I've seen of you, you're a pretty strong person."

Now, Ava was crying again, this time, though, they were tears of happiness.

"Thank you." Ava whispered.

"Always. So, what do you say, you give this case one more shot?" Castle said.

Ava looked him dead in the eye, and grinned. "Let's do it."


	11. Chapter 11

Ava and Castle stepped off the elevator inside the 12th Precinct almost simultaneously, and were immediately greeted by the other detectives.

"Ava, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked.

"Well, after I mulled it over for a while, I decided I want to help you guys with the case."

Ryan grinned at her, and her eyes twinkled in reply.

"Well, unfortunately, we haven't had any leads since you were in the hospital." Kate piped up.

"Not a problem. Castle and I stopped by the M.E. office on the way here for something that I think will help us." Ava opened her shoulder bag, and pulled out a manila file folder labeled MISSY WOOD AUTOPSY.

"Missy Wood? Wasn't she Mister Wood's wife?" Esposito said.

"Yeah, she died a few years ago in a 'car accident'." Ava said.

"Why the air quotes?" Beckett asked.

"Well, the autopsy may have pointed to accidental death, but I do believe that it was foul play!" Ava said, striking up a Sherlock Holmes impression. The rest of the detectives stared at her.

"Sorry, I've always wanted to do that. Anyways, I was looking over some of the photos from the accident when we first picked up the case, and I noticed a few discrepancies. Here, see how badly Missy's back is cut up?" Ava said, pulling out an autopsy photo. "The wounds don't match the damage to the car."

Ava pulled a second picture from the file, an insurance claim. It showed the pictures of the car. Upon closer examination, the back window had not been smashed very badly; most of the damage had been frontal.

"Only a few shards of glass would've hit her back, and they wouldn't have made that much damage. Also, look at the shape of the wounds. It's clean cut marks, not jagged like you would normally see from glass inflicted wounds."

After a few moments of staring back and forth at the photos, Kate glanced up.

"So you think this could've been staged?"

"I'm sure of it. Now here's where things get interesting. Ryan, Espo, you know that knife I found at the crime scene?"

"Yeah, I guess." Ryan said, confused.

"Remember how there was older looking blood at the handle? Well, I had Lanie run some tests on it, and you'll never believe what she found. It turns out that the blood was Missy's!"

"No way!"

"Yes way. And even more insane, you'll never believe whose prints she found." Ava pulled a photo out of her bag, and this time all the detectives gasped.

"But he seemed so innocent before!" Kate said, bewildered.

"I know! That's what makes it perfect! He knew that no one would look to him."

"Way to go Aves!" Ryan said, and he hugged her.

"Thanks."

Finally, Castle spoke up.

"Just one question: how are we gonna get him to admit it? I mean, he looks like the kind of guy that'd punch you in the face if you laughed at him."

"Well, I have a plan." Ava said. "Gather round."


	12. Chapter 12

"Mr. Wood, nice of you to come in again." Ryan said, sitting down with Esposito opposite of Clyde Wood in interrogation.

"Sure thing, detective. May I ask what this is about, though? I thought you were only going to call with news on the killer." Clyde stared at them, putting on a look of deceit.

"Well, actually, that's partially why we brought you here." Ryan said. "You see, we finally caught the killer in the case-"

"That's fantastic!"

"-But we caught him too late."

Clyde stared back at the detectives, confused.

"What do you mean?"

Ryan swallowed hard, and stared at the table, tears welling in his eyes.

"Oh God, I can't even say it. Espo, could you, please?"

"Of course bro." Espo stared at Clyde with sad brown eyes. He sighed, and hunched forward. "Mr. Wood, I'm sure you heard the news that Ava was shot, correct?"

"Well, of course! A few of her and Charolette's friends called to tell me. My God, is she okay?"

"Actually, n-no." Espo choked out the words. "Mr. Wood, Ava is,-"

"Dead! She's dead!" Ryan suddenly cried, holding his face in his hands, his whole body shaking. Espo tried to comfort him, but it didn't work.

"Oh my God, she-she's dead? But how? WH-who killed her?" Clyde said, a look of fear fogging his eyes.

Esposito turned to him. "We're not sure, not yet anyways. But we're suspecting that whoever killed her, might have also killed your daughter."

Ryan spoke up through his sobs. "I just can't believe it! My little girl, she's gone! She's g-gone!"

Clyde looked up in horror: he had never meant to kill Ava, only to scare her and the detectives away! _You sick evil bastard, look what you've done! You've gone and screwed up again, for what?_

"I- I KILLED HER!" Clyde screamed, the guilt gnawing at his soul. "I did it! I killed Ava! I killed Charolette! Hell, I killed my own wife!"

The detectives looked up, stunned at the confession they had gotten. But Clyde kept going.

"I never wanted it to go this far, I swear! Ava was a good kid, an absolute angel! And Charolette, oh Lord, she was just a kid! Oh God, I've screwed it all up!" Clyde beat his fists on the table, groping for air. He sat back waiting for the detectives to lash at him. But instead, they cracked up laughing. Now, tears of joy flooded their eyes.

"Oh man, did you see the look on his face?" Ryan laughed.

"The guy looks like freakin' Jack Nicholson! Oh man, that was great!" Espo said, both of them holding their sides.

Clyde just stared in dead silence and shock. "Y-you were kidding?"

Suddenly, Ava burst through the door.

"Heck yeah they were! And it was my entire brilliant plan!" She said, grinning ear to ear. She walked over to the table, and stared down her shooter.

"Nice try, tough guy. Now get out of my precinct." She said, spinning on her heels, leaving a dumbfounded, and angry, Clyde Wood at the table. The other detectives led her out. But Ava never made it to the door.

Suddenly, Clyde jumped from the table, and pinned Ava to the wall, pulling an army knife from his pocket, and holding it to her throat. Ryan and Espo drew their weapons.

"Try anything, and the girl dies!" Clyde screamed. Then, he turned to face his next, and final, murder victim.

"You set me up, you little bitch." Clyde tightened his grip on Ava's throat. "You put me in prison, YOU did this!" He drew his knife nearer to Ava's face. "Any last words?"

Ava struggled to do something, anything. She could barely breathe, and she was almost passed out. Then, she reached her hand up with her last bit of strength, and socked Clyde in the face, then kicked his chest. He tumbled backwards, and hit the floor.

"Ava!" Ryan said, running to the fallen girl. She had fallen to the floor, slightly unconscious. "Ava, sweetie, are you okay?" He brushed the side of her face.

"D-did I win?" She said, dazed and confused. Ryan hugged her.

"I guess we could say that." He said into her hair. She giggled softly, and then coughed. Ryan pulled away so she could breathe.

By now, Espo had wrestled cuffs onto Mr. Wood, and was carting him out of the room.

"So, how's it feel to get your ass kicked by an eighteen year old girl?" He said, dragging him from the room.

Beckett rushed through the doorway, and examined Ava's throat.

"Some minor bruising, a little swelling, but nothing that ice won't fix." She said, helping the girl to her feet.

"Does it look like it damaged her shoulder any further?" Ryan asked, panicked. Kate stared back at him, Ava propped against her shoulder.

"Nope. It might be sore, but it should be okay." She smiled. "Alright, let's get out of here."

"Good idea."


	13. Chapter 13

Ava sat at the park bench, staring out over the horizon of the lake. She wanted to relax a little after her grueling day, and the park was the perfect place. The sunset settled over the water in a display of golden beauty, casting a heavenly glow on the park. Just as Ava closed her eyes, Ryan snuck up behind her, and covered her eyes.

"Hey snugglebug!" He said. He hadn't called her that since she was ten. And man, she had missed it.

Ryan sat down next to her on the bench. "So, how's your neck doing? Any better?"

"Uh, yeah. It's a little sore, but it's getting better." She said.

Ryan searched her eyes for signs of anything. And what he found there was amazing: beauty. Not just the ordinary kind of physical beauty, but inner beauty. And something else lye hidden there: strength. For three weeks, Ryan watched the once sad, scared little girl, become a new person.

Ava rested her head on Ryan's shoulder. She was tired, and needed some human contact.

"How'd you know I was here?" She asked.

"This is the park I took you to as a kid, remember? And besides, this is where I like to come to think." He said, holding her hand.

"And by the way, congrats on solving the case. I'm really proud of you."

Ava looked up into his blue eyes and smiled. "Well, I couldn't have done it without you guys."

"Well, duh! We practically solved the whole case!" He said, giggling. Ava punched him playfully in the ribs.

"You are such a self-centered egotistic jerk!" She giggled.

"Hey, that hurts my feelings!" They both sat giggling for a few moments, and fell into an awkward silence. Suddenly, Ava sat up.

"Hey, can I tell you something?" She said.

"Sure, what's up?"

Ava hesitated. How could she drop this news on him when he was so happy? She took a deep breath, and contemplated what she was going to say.

"Well, I went to a psychologist a few days ago, and, well, - they think that- that I might have PTSD."

Ryan couldn't believe the stunning revelation that had just been made, couldn't and wouldn't believe it.

"Ava, you, you're kidding?" He stuttered. Ava shook her head. "Oh God, Ava! W-why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Ava held back the tears that were fighting hard to escape. Things were playing out exactly like she'd hoped they wouldn't.

"Because I was scared." She had turn away so Ryan couldn't see that she was crying.

Ryan sat dumbfounded. "Scared of what?"

Ava took another deep breath, which did nothing to hold back the tears. She forced herself to turn and look at her uncle. And when she did, she saw that he had begun crying as well.

"I was scared you wouldn't think that I'm strong enough."

These words beat against Ryan's ears, and he felt his heart drop. Not even watching the girl who was practically his daughter get shot was as painful as that moment.

"Ava, sweetheart, just because you have PTSD doesn't make you any less strong, and it sure as hell doesn't make me see you that way. Ava, you're one of the strongest people I know! You survived a car accident; you survived not having a mother or father for the majority of your life. Two weeks ago, you were shot and almost killed, and came up smiling. And if that isn't strength, then I don't know what is."

Ryan hugged Ava tightly. She was crying now, not tears of sadness, but tears of happiness. Once again, she felt that comforting warmth in that hug. She never wanted to let go of that feeling. It was like a million tiny rays of sunlight on her body, and it felt amazing.

"Ava Marie Ryan, I love you, and I hope you'll never forget that." Ryan said.

"Believe me, I won't." She said, smiling.

"So, still think I'm an egotistic jerk?"

"Absolutely." Ava pulled away, and giggled.

Ryan looked into his niece's blue eyes that day and saw something amazing: strength. True, unbreakable strength. Ava wiped her eyes.

"You know what? You're right. I am strong. But you know what else? You're the one who's made me strong. The moment you took me in as your own, you taught me something: we're a family, and we make each other stronger. I couldn't be where I am now without you. Thank you." Ava smiled.

They both sat smiling for a moment. Ryan glanced down at his watch.

"Oh shoot, we gotta go!"

He helped Ava up.

"Where are we going?"

"Well, Jenny wanted to take you shopping for a dress for your heroic act ceremony, and Kate and Javi wanted to take you out to dinner. After that, Castle said he was gonna take you to a movie."

"Sounds fun! But, what are you and me gonna do?"

Ryan reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out an envelope. "Well, I know it's a ways away, but I got us tickets to go see Kelly Clarkson in concert next month."

Ava shrieked, and hugged her uncle.

"How did you even get these? I tried for months, and they were already out!"

"Well, I pulled a few strings, talked to Kelly's manager, told him about your story, and they agreed to give us the tickets and backstage passes!"

Ava shrieked again.

"No freaking way! Thank you so much!"

"You are more than welcome. Now come on, I told Jenny we'd be there at six."

"Race you to the car?"

"Oh, you're on!"


	14. Chapter 14

"It is my honor today to present the prestigious Medal of Bravery upon Miss Ava Marie Ryan this seventeenth of April."

It was finally the big day; the mayor was presenting Ava with an award for her work on the Charolette Wood case, and for saving two policemen. Ava stood on the stage, wearing a white dress that she and Jenny had picked out. Her cast peeked out through the sleeve. She was smiling brightly, staring out into the crowd.

"For solving a serial murder, and for saving the lives of two of New York's finest detectives."

Ava smiled even bigger at this, and looked into the crowd where her uncle sat beside Esposito.

"Miss Ryan, thank you for protecting this great city of ours. I now present you with a medal of bravery."

Ava bowed her head, and the medal was placed around her neck. Suddenly, from the crowd, Castle stood up.

"Yeah Ava, woo!" He said clapping. He looked around, and saw that he was the only one cheering. Suddenly, Beckett joined him, then Ryan, then Espo, then the rest of the crowd.

The mayor moved aside so Ava could speak. She stepped up to the podium, and cleared her throat.

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Wow, it's so amazing to be standing up here in front of all of you today. But the real reason I'm here is because of the five amazing people here in the front row; Kate Beckett, Javier Esposito, Lanie Parish, Richard Castle, and my uncle, Detective Kevin Ryan."

Ryan smiled, gazing at his niece.

"These amazing detectives have been like a second family to me all these years, helping me through thick and thin. You know, someone once told me that families are supposed to make each other stronger, and that's exactly what these stunning people have done for me. They all took me under their wing, and for that, I am forever grateful. Thank you."

Once again, the crowd erupted with applause and cheers. Ava stepped down from the podium, shook the mayor's hand, and exited the stage. The crowd dispersed, going their separate ways. The detectives all gathered around Ava. Ryan pulled the girl into a hug.

"Ava, that speech was amazing!" He said, kissing her head.

"Yeah chica, you had the whole crowd cheering!" Espo said, resting a hand on her good shoulder.

"Thanks guys." Ava said, beaming.

"But I had a little help writing it." Ava said, winking at Castle. Castle winked back.

"So, Ava, we all have a little something for you." Kate said. All the other detectives gathered around her in a horseshoe shape.

"Since you helped us out on the case, we'd like to say thank you, with this." Lanie said, handing her an envelope.

"Open it." Ryan said.

Ava slowly opened the envelope, pulling out a letter from the police academy.

"Read it, out loud." Castle said.

"Miss Ryan, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the New York Police Academy on full scholarship. Fall semester begins August 27, and orientation is on June first!" Ava squealed with delight.  
"Oh my God, you guys! How did you-"

"I have a friend on the admissions board that I contacted. She was more than pleased to look over your application after I told her about how you helped us." Beckett said. Ava hugged her.

"Beckett, this is so amazing! Thank you so much!"

"Anytime kiddo. But I'm not the only one who helped. Ryan and Espo are helping pay for rooming expenses, and Lanie was a reference. Castle edited and finalized your application."

Ava stepped back, and stared at all the others.

"You guys! This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me! Thank you!" Ava said, and everyone group hugged, even Castle.

"Oh shoot, Ava, we gotta get you packed and up to the train station!" Ryan said.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Can I say goodbye real quick?" She pleaded with her eyes.

"Okay, hurry!"

All the detectives, and castle, stood in a line. Ava started with Beckett.

"Kate, I'm really gonna miss you. I hope we can still stay in touch?"

"Of course. Shoot me an e-mail any time. "She gave Ava a quick hug.

Ava moved down the line to Lanie.

"Lanie, it was so good to see you again! Thanks for your help."

"Come here girl!" Lanie said, giving Ava a quick hug. "Feel free to call me about any problems at school, especially the boy-related ones." She said, winking.

"Yeah, she probably won't have to worry about that." Ryan said. Lanie shot him a look, and he backed off.

Now Ava was looking at Espo. He sniffled, and rubbed his eyes.

"Espo, are you crying?" She said.

"Pft, no! My allergies are acting up from all these flowers!"

Ava gave him a look.

"Come here big fella." Ava said.

Esposito bent down and scooped Ava up in a hug. He spun her around, then put her back on the ground.

"I'm gonna miss you a little chica! Promise you'll e-mail me every week, okay?" Espo said, holding Ava's good shoulder.

"I promise I will. And you behave yourself mister. I don't want any bad reports when I get back." Ava said, smiling.

Finally, Ava reached Castle. She smiled wordlessly at him for a few seconds.

"Mister Castle, I'm almost tempted to say that I'll miss you the most. I just want to say thank you for helping me."

"Always." Castle said.

Ava gave him a hug.

"Good luck at college. You'll do great." He said.

Ava smiled, and stepped back from the detectives.

"It was nice to see you all again, and to meet some new friends." Ava winked at Castle. "I promise I'll stay in contact. Goodbye." Ava said. She turned and walked away with her uncle.

"Oh, Ava, wait!" Castle called after her.

He ran to her, and handed her a small bag.

"Open it." He said.

Ava reached into the bag, and pulled out a signed copy of his newest book.

"Castle, this is so sweet! Thank you!" She said, giving him another hug.

"Ava, come on!" Ryan called.

"I have to go." Ava said.

"Have fun." Castle said.

Ava trotted up to where her uncle stood. As she walked away, she turned and waved at all her friends.

THE END.

/Keep an eye out for Ava's next adventure, coming soon/


End file.
